Generic Correlates as Lakunae Elimination

Abstract

There is a large scatter of ideas about lacunae in modern linguistics. The lacuna phenomenon can be defined as a sign, a fixing principle of the presence / absence of an object or phenomenon; the phenomenon of absence in discourse, discursive omissions; differences, contradictions in the semantic sphere, revealed in communication, acts of misunderstanding; nonequivalent vocabulary, reality, white spots on the semantic map; zero correlate, dark holes; national specific differences between languages; virtual units, etc. If we assume that the lacuna is not a figment of imagination, but a unit that objectively exists in a language, it becomes obvious that it is impossible to mentally insert an infinite number of alien units into the language system. Thus, it would be wrong to identify the presence of lacunae in a language on this basis. The ideas of multi-level lacunarity are multiplying in works related to translation studies and intercultural communication. Particular attention should be given to grammatical lacunae, manifested in the linguistic gender. Feminine generic correlates of animated masculine names are productively analyzed as intralingual grammatical lacunae. The study of these forms in the paradigm of the theory of lacunarity makes it possible to focus on their pragmatic properties, since the systemic absence of linguistic units helps to clarify their linguistic-pragmatic characteristics. The following methods were used to study generic correlates as lacunae elimination. The method of privative oppositions was employed to study changing / unchangeable lexical units; the modeling method and the psycholinguistic method were used to study fragments of linguistic consciousness in native speakers and to detect the psychological component in the semantics of words. Based on the study of semantic-cognitive characteristics of language lacunae, their fundamental ambiguity and heterogeneity, it seems legitimate to isolate a specific area of the linguistic field called lacunology.

Keywords

• grammar
• linguo-pragmatics
• grammatical lacuna
• morphological category of the gender
• pejorativity
• intercultural communication